Juneteenth will be celebrated as an official city holiday in 2020, following an executive order signed by Mayor Jim Kenney yesterday. City offices will be closed to the public on Friday, June 19 to observe the holiday and municipal services, like trash collection, will be postponed until Saturday.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the date considered as the end of slavery in the United States, and it’s an important, big step for Philadelphia officials to finally recognize it.
“The only way to dismantle the institutional racism and inequalities that continue to disenfranchise Black Philadelphians is to look critically at how we got here, and make much-needed changes to the governmental systems that allow inequality to persist,” Kenney said in a statement.
Some additional steps need to be taken though in order for Juneteenth to remain a city holiday, including City Council legislation and a re-negotiation of all City holidays with the municipal unions. The Kenney Administration strongly supports it as a permanent holiday in Philadelphia.
To celebrate Juneteenth, Black Lives Matter Philly is hosting Jawnteenth – “a celebration of Black joy, freedom, and resistance… Black only space” – this Friday from 4-7 p.m. at Malcolm X Park (52nd and Pine). This will be a social distanced celebration featuring food, music, dancing, marching, and more. Participants are asked to wear a mask. Rain date will be the following Friday, June 26. For more information, please visit the Facebook event page.
Also, check out more local Juneteenth events below:
For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/lola38west/.
Head to 41st and Brown on Saturday at noon for a community cleanup in honor of Juneteenth! If you have cleaning supplies like brooms and trash bags, bring those along. More info in the flyer below. pic.twitter.com/mOeLNQ0Xor
— Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (@CouncilmemberJG) June 17, 2020
Join the SPECIAL ONLINE PRESENTATION: SUPER BLUES color Lux bath on June 19 at 7 PM – 9 PM! Presented on this year’s Juneteenth celebration of freedom and resilience, please join us for a special performance of remote meditation using sound and video.https://t.co/XvfyT6jVx6 pic.twitter.com/N9IV3Wu7em
— Scribe Video Center (@ScribeVideo) June 8, 2020
June 18th, 2020 at 8:50 am
This party is a black only space though, just a note!
June 19th, 2020 at 2:41 pm
Per Emma’s note, it does seem like this post should make note of the organizers’ request, as it’s obviously important to them (taken from FB page):
“This is a space for Black people that is FOR US (Black People) and BY US (Black People). We lovingly welcome all people who identify as a member of our community!”
June 23rd, 2020 at 1:55 pm
What is meant by “identify” in this context?